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Hello, South Korea :Jeonju Hanok Village

It’s hard to believe thar this week marks my month anniversary in South Korea. Between starting work, finishing up my EPIK orientation, and trying to settle in to a new life I haven’t blogged at all. It’s about time I catch up and what better way to start than with my first official outing in South Korea – Jeonju Hanok Village .

Walking into Jeonju Hanok Village

Located in the now developed city of Jeonju, Hanok Village is a well-preserved testament to traditional Korean culture.

Along with my orientation group, I started off with a walk through the village that included a stop at a traditional paper factory and store. We got to see how the women actually make the paper goods from start to finish. And of course we got to view the finished paper craft products in the near-by store.

Making Paper

Paper Crafts

Paper Crafts

After a sampling of traditional Korean wine, we headed off to view many of the historical buildings in the village. Among these were the first Christian church built in the area, a school-house, and numerous religious sites.

These curved roofs are a signature part of Jeonju Hanok Village.

Schoolhouse

First Christian Church

The highlight of the day was lunch. It was my first time getting to try bibimbap. The dish is as traditional as Korean food gets and is one of the main reasons people travel to Jeonju. They’re known for making the best bimimbap.

bibimbap

A Typical Korean Lunch

I burned off lunch with a quick walk around the neighborhood. I wondered in and out of more shops, found some intriguing street art, and even more intriguing street food. Worthy mentions were hottek ( a pancake filled with brown sugar and served warm) and it’s even more appetizing counterpart–silk worms.

Silk Worms -Yummy

The day ended with a traditional drumming lesson and a tea ceremony , which for me , was the highlight. A woman dressed in an extravagant Hanbok(a type of Korean dress) schooled us on the origins of Koreans’ love affair with tea, why green tea is so healthy, and how to properly make and serve a cup.

The Tea Ceremony Begins!

Instructer in traditional Hanbok

Attempting to play the drums.

Jeonju Hanok Village offers a lot more than I got to experience. If you’re ever in the area you can try making your own paper crafts, learn to do the dragon dance, and even spend the night in their village’s sleeping accommodations.

Lol, I think I’m going to have to try the worms and report back to everyone. The bibimbap is mainly veggies and bean sprouts but there was also some ground beef,red pepper paste, and a raw egg on top. It was pretty good-and this is from someone who doesn’t like eggs ..or meat really.

It sounds like EPIK is still doing the same orientation they did when I started with them in 2010!! Nice to see some things don’t change. I hope you enjoy your time in Korea. I have one blog about my time in Korea that might give you some ideas of things to do there: http://www.catbirdinkorea.wordpress.com

Thanks for suggesting that…I’m going through all of your Korea posts now lol. There’s a lot of things here I would like to see in person. Did you go to the village during the fall? The colors look much more intense and pretty in your pics.

Yes, we went when we first got there, as you did, but later my school district arranged another trip in November. It was much prettier then. I also took my son there when he visited in December. You can see all the dates on the posts. It’s written like a journal so all the dates are exactly right. I most highly recommend the Boseong tea plantations and Suncheon Bay, Gyeongju, Busan, and Geoje-si. Hope you have fun!